1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a dispensing device having a substrate supported by a support member, and in particular, to a dispensing device having a substrate angled with respect to the support member to promote air flow threrethrough.
2. Description of the Background of the Disclosure
Various volatile material dispensing devices are known in the prior art that generally comprise a reservoir that holds a volatile material and optionally includes a housing or support structure to retain the reservoir. The prior art dispensing devices typically either allow passive diffusion of the volatile material to occur without the aid of a dispensing mechanism or enhance and/or facilitate the release of the volatile material using a dispensing mechanism. Typical dispensing mechanisms used in volatile material dispensing devices include a heating device and/or a fan that either heats and/or supplies air, respectively.
Many passive dispensing devices of the prior art utilize a solid or semi-solid block of material or a volatile material laden gel disposed within a housing. In particular, one prior art dispensing device comprises a container having a candle therein. When lit, the candle emits a volatile material. Another prior art dispensing device uses a conical gel shaped surface impregnated with a volatile material. The conical gel surface is disposed within a housing having an adjustable cap. The cap may be adjusted upwardly or downwardly to expose the surface area of the conical gel surface to varying degrees. In a different prior art diffusion device, the diffusion device uses a reservoir having a semi-permeable film disposed thereon and a volatile material disposed within the reservoir. The volatile material diffuses out of the reservoir through the semi-permeable membrane. Another prior art diffusion device includes a substantially flat substrate having a volatile material thereon. The volatile material is slowly released into the surrounding atmosphere.
One draw-back of some of the aforementioned prior art devices is that the devices are typically not designed to be hung from a surface, such as a wall or ceiling. Prior art devices that are hung on the wall are usually automatically operated to dispense the volatile material at set intervals or based on a particular condition, such as with the use of a sensor, so that the user does not have to physically touch or interact with the device to effect dispensing. Such electrical requirements make the devices more complex and expensive to manufacture and sell. Further, such devices are more complicated for users to operate.
A further drawback of some of the prior art device, such as those that require user interaction to hang, is that a user must touch the substrate that is impregnated with the volatile material. Therefore, it is desirable to position a dispensing device in an operable position without touching the substrate or portions of the dispensing device that contain a volatile material, such as an insecticide. It is further desirable to locate such diffusion devices out of the reach of children when the dispensing device is in use.
Finally, dispensing devices that have solid or substantially solid substrates typically do not allow either any air, or a sufficient amount of air, to flow therethrough to aid in dispersing the volatile material over a broad area. Insufficient airflow is further exacerbated when a solid or semi-solid substrate of a dispensing device is disposed adjacent a wall or ceiling.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a three-dimensional dispensing device specifically designed to be hung on a surface such as a wall or a ceiling that is operable without human intervention or electronic parts (including sensors and motors). It would further be further desirable to have a dispensing device that is designed to allow sufficient airflow therethrough, even when the dispensing device is disposed adjacent a vertical surface. Finally, it would be desirable to provide a low-cost dispensing device that is positioned into an operable position without human interaction with a volatile material. The present disclosure provides new and non-obvious dispensing devices, which address one or more of the above issues.